Pet Shop Boys
Elysium
Parlophone
***
The most successful double act in pop history, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have seen their stock rise and fall during their three-decade career. But the deadpan duo have recently enjoyed a sustained period of critical and commercial acclaim, both at home and abroad, becoming a much-loved national institution in their native Britain on a par with the royal family. Between studio albums they have also collaborated on profile-boosting projects including film scores, a stage musical, a ballet and their spectacular Pandemonium world tour. To crown it all, they even landed a scene-stealing guest slot at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics.
To record their 11th studio album, Tennant and Lowe relocated to Hollywood for the first time in three decades, enlisting the services of Kanye West's producer Andrew Dawson. Drenched in California sunshine, the emotional tone of Elysium is mostly warm and laid-back, but undercut with the plaintive minor-key melancholy that has always informed even the most euphoric Pet Shop Boys tracks. Creeping mortality, heartbreak and loss are ever-present background shadows behind the soft-edged electro-throbber Leaving, the bittersweet midlife confessional Invisible and the achingly romantic Memory of the Future. There is even a straight-faced experiment in uplifting gospel-pop on the surging, soaring Hold On.
Droll titles, ironic lyrics and acerbic humour are signature PSB qualities. Sadly, they are less evident than usual on Elysium, with its default setting of midlife reflection and earnest introspection. But, happily, Tennant has not mellowed too much. The blazing disco-pop gallop Ego Music is one of his most deliciously funny songs to date. It is a savage satire on celebrity vanity in which the singer adopts the faux-modest persona of a self-obsessed pop star reeling off hilariously pompous quotes: "That's why people love me … it's humbling." Shooting fish in a barrel, perhaps, but still great fun.
Elysium is an interesting album, but not a PSB classic. Too many tracks feel thin and anodyne, unmemorable melodies clothed in blandly decorous studio polish. And, as ever with Tennant and Lowe, some of the more conceptual songs work better on paper than in the studio. The lyrics to Your Early Stuff are reportedly compiled from comments made to the duo by taxi drivers, an inspired idea with sketchy, repetitive results. That said, even a second-rank album by the longest-running duo in Britpop history still delivers more sophistication, wit and arty-party glamour than almost anyone else in modern music.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Valencia v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Mallorca v Alaves (4pm)
Barcelona v Getafe (7pm)
Villarreal v Levante (9.30pm)
Sunday
Granada v Real Volladolid (midnight)
Sevilla v Espanyol (3pm)
Leganes v Real Betis (5pm)
Eibar v Real Sociedad (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Madrid v Celta Vigo (midnight)
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
Copa del Rey final
Sevilla v Barcelona, Saturday, 11.30pm (UAE), match on Bein Sports
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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